Home

If you were to bushwhack into my New Year's brain, you'd find two major themes:

1) No more dip. For the rest of my life.2) New Years makes me sad.

As for theme #1, see my "recipe" for muesli below. Granola, much as I love it, has a lot more fat and sugar, and January calls for something more restrained. I like to mix a couple big spoonfuls of muesli with yogurt, a drizzle of maple syrup, and some winter citrus.

As for theme #2, I suppose I'm one of the strange people that actually likes Christmas. I feel Advent Time slipping away, and I'm not sure I can mount the energy and enthusiasm the "Fresh Starts!" require. I'm taking my Vitamin D and making some lists. I'm cleaning out drawers and packing up the Christmas decorations. All of that is good, but I'm also resenting coming out of hibernation. Mary is still my guide in these short days, and I've found myself thinking about what happened after the birth when reality set in. Here's what I imagine. (And Happy New Year. Despite my melancholy, it's a gift to ring it in.)

After Birth

When adrenaline of angel choirsand birth has worn off,

when the bright staris shrouded in fog,

when frankincense and myrrhget lost in the luggage,

when I stand in the doorway,burping the baby, saying goodbye to Joseph,

there is just this:my sheer humanness,

diapers to wash,sleep to find, water to carry,

knowledge of all the God-birthsstill waiting to happen,

and unstoppable mother-lovethat's draining me already.

New Year's MuesliQuickly pulse 1 c. old fashioned oats in a food processor or blended. Just a few seconds. Combine the pulsed oats with 2 or 3 cups of whole oats, some toasted nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts), a few Tablespoons of chia, flax, sesame, or pumpkin seeds (or all of the above!), a few Tablespoons of brown sugar, unsweetened dried coconut flakes, pinch of salt, teaspoon of cinnamon, and any dried fruit of your choice, chopped to bite-sized pieces. Store in a canister and eat it with milk, yogurt, or cook it like you would oatmeal. It will keep for a few months in your pantry or on the counter.